“The threat of war is not imminent, but it is not impossible either.”

“The threat of war is not imminent, but it is not impossible either.” With a war on the EU’s doorstep and another in the Middle East, the debate on security and defense has taken on particular prominence in the EU, breaking taboos on the matter. The club that was born to guarantee peace is preparing a kind of ‘war economy’, knowing that its capabilities have diminished during these decades. And the European Commission has been focusing on that for months.

“Europe is beginning to understand the urgency and magnitude of the challenge we face. But there is a lot to do. And we have to act quickly,” said Ursula von der Leyen in a debate in the European Parliament. So far the EU has been creating obstacles to stop Vladimir Putin by sending arms to Kiev or increasing production capacity. Now the Community Government wants to strengthen the defense industry and will soon present a strategy.

“We should not exaggerate the dangers of war, but should prepare for them. And this begins with the urgent need to rebuild, replenish and modernize the armed forces of the member states,” German said of the countries’ potential: “In doing so, Europe must strive to develop and build the next generation of warfighters.” Winning Operating Capabilities. And make sure it has enough content and technological superiority that we may need in the future.

“At the heart of all this there must be a simple principle: Europe must spend more, spend better, spend European. In the coming weeks we will present some proposals to accompany the first European Defense Industrial Strategy. Defense Industrial. One of the central objectives of the strategy, and of the European Defense Investment Program that comes with it, will be to prioritize joint defense acquisitions,” explained von der Leyen, who compared these purchases to the strategy adopted by the EU during the pandemic. During the acquisition of vaccines or gas amid the energy crisis.

How to finance the defense industry is one of the main debates within the EU, which is already increasing its budget and has committed to reaching 2% of GDP in military spending. Emmanuel Macron proposed launching Eurobonds so that there would be some kind of European fund for the pandemic with a common debt, but Germany does not see this. Another proposal on the table is the coming into existence of a European Investment Bank. And von der Leyen has chosen to identify projects of common interest to enhance that industry.

“It will not be easy to take this step simultaneously from a defense point of view. This will require bold decisions and political courage,” said the German, who appealed for the need to continue helping Ukraine. Thus, he announced the creation of an Office for Defense Innovation in Kyiv: “This will bring Ukraine even closer to Europe and will allow all Member States to take advantage of Ukraine’s experience on the battlefield and its defense know-how .Industrial”.

It has taken another step forward regarding the use of assets deposited in Russia through sanctions, which remain blocked in banks with legal doubts about the possibility of releasing them or not. Von der Leyen has advocated using the interest it is generating to purchase military equipment for Ukraine.